Apple Music 100 Best Albums
The Apple Music 100 Best Albums is an opinion survey and curated music ranking of the finest albums in history, created by the streaming service Apple Music. Its team crafted the list alongside a group of artists that included Pharrell Williams, J Balvin, Maren Morris, and Charli XCX.[1] The list is an editorial statement and does not take into account any streaming figures on Apple Music or any other streaming service.[2][3]
Background[edit]
The first 10 placements (91–100) of the list were announced on May 13, 2024, via a press release by Apple. It was revealed that the whole list would be released as a countdown beginning that same day, revealing 10 albums each day for the following 10 days.[4] To accompany the list, Apple Music unveiled a dedicated microsite to analyze and discuss the albums.[2]
Reception[edit]
The list received mixed reviews from fans and critics. Aidin Vaziri of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "The selection sharply contrasts with the traditional rankings by legacy music publications, such as Rolling Stone."[5] Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the list "was clearly a stunt to get attention and sell subscriptions to Apple Music", with its ultimate goal being to "get people to actually engage with these albums",[6] while Chris Willman of Variety wrote that the list "exists almost expressly to make you mad".[7] Multiple critics cited recency bias, with the list overrepresenting newly released albums.[7][8][9]
Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian called the list "certainly baffling in places", noting the absence of artists such as Johnny Cash, Diana Ross, The Supremes, and The Who, as well as the list's underrepresentation of country music.[9] Ryan Teague Beckwith of MSNBC commented that the list generously represents rock and hip hop, while only including "token nods" to jazz, folk, reggae, and punk, and neglecting to include blues, gospel, or world music albums.[10] Many fans criticized the list's placement of 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift at number 18, topping highly-regarded pop albums such as Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys and Hounds of Love by Kate Bush, with The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen calling the placement "absurd".[6][11][12][13]
Several critics commended Apple Music's unorthodox placement of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as the greatest album of all time.[7][9][14] In response to the placement, Lauryn Hill said, "I appreciate the acknowledgement, I really do, but I’d be remiss not to also acknowledge all of the music and artists who informed and inspired me ... The leaders of community and movements that sparked me, the social dynamics and music scenes, both older and current at the time, that intrigued and inspired me to contribute."[11]
Complete list[edit]
Statistics[edit]
Genres[edit]
The following table lists the genres of the albums included on the list, which are based on Apple Music's assigned genre.
Number of albums from each genre
| Genre | Number of albums |
Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Hip-Hop/Rap | 21 | 21% |
| Rock | 18 | 18% |
| Pop | 16 | 16% |
| Alternative | 14 | 14% |
| R&B/Soul | 11 | 11% |
| Electronic | 4 | 4% |
| Hard rock | 3 | 3% |
| Jazz | 3 | 3% |
| Motown | 2 | 2% |
| Punk | 2 | 2% |
| Singer/Songwriter | 2 | 2% |
| Country | 1 | 1% |
| Latin | 1 | 1% |
| Metal | 1 | 1% |
| Roots Reggae | 1 | 1% |
Number of albums from each decade[edit]
Number of albums from each decade
| Decade | Number of albums |
Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1 | 1% |
| 1960s | 10 | 10% |
| 1970s | 18 | 18% |
| 1980s | 17 | 17% |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% |
| 2000s | 11 | 11% |
| 2010s | 17 | 17% |
| 2020s | 3 | 3% |
Artists with multiple albums[edit]
The following table lists the artists who have multiple albums included on the list.
| Artist | Number of albums by artist |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Beatles | 2 | One album in the top 10 (no. 3) |
| Prince | 2 | Count includes one album credited to Prince and the Revolution; one album in the top 10 (no. 4) |
| Stevie Wonder | 2 | One album in the top 10 (no. 6) |
| Beyoncé | 2 | Only woman with 2 albums on the list; one album in the top 10 (no. 10) |
| Radiohead | 2 | |
| Dr. Dre | 2 | Count includes one album credited to N.W.A |
Record labels with multiple albums[edit]
The following table lists the record labels who have multiple albums included on the list. This is based on the labels under which each album was released originally, not the current copyright holders.
| Label | Parent | Number of albums |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interscope Records | Universal Music Group | 10 | |
| Capitol Records | 6 | ||
| Polydor Records | 4 | ||
| Aftermath Entertainment | 3 | Founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996 | |
| Def Jam Recordings | 3 | ||
| Island Records | 3 | ||
| Motown | 3 | ||
| Republic Records | 3 | ||
| Virgin Records | 3 | ||
| A&M Records | 2 | Founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. | |
| Priority Records | 2 | ||
| Roc-A-Fella Records | 2 | Defunct American hip hop label founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. | |
| Columbia Records | Sony Music Entertainment | 13 | |
| Epic Records | 6 | ||
| Arista Records | 4 | ||
| RCA Records | 4 | ||
| Reprise Records | Warner Music Group | 4 | Founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. |
| Warner Records | 4 |
Also known as Warner Bros. Records. | |
| Atlantic Records | 3 | ||
| Elektra Records | 3 | ||
| Parlophone | 2 | Label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. | |
| Sire Records | 2 | ||
| Death Row Records | Independent Labels | 3 | Founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. |
| Rough Trade Records | 2 | Independent label based in London, England. Formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis. | |
| Top Dawg Entertainment | 2 | Founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. | |
| Parkwood Entertainment Records | Parkwood Entertainment | 2 | American label founded by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé in 2010. |
Albums by artist's country of origin[edit]
Number of albums from each country
| Country | Number of albums |
|---|---|
 United States |
63 |
 United Kingdom |
22 |
 Canada |
4 |
 Australia |
1 |
 Barbados |
1 |
 France |
1 |
 Germany |
1 |
 Iceland |
1 |
 Ireland |
1 |
 Jamaica |
1 |
 New Zealand |
1 |
 Puerto Rico |
1 |
 Sweden |
1 |
See also[edit]
- Album era
- All Time Top 1000 Albums
- Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums
- NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
- Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
- Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
- Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time
- Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
Footnotes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Irvin, Jack (May 13, 2024). "Maren Morris Names Her 'Perfect Album' as She Works with Apple Music to Choose the 100 Best of All Time (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Apple Music celebrates the greatest records ever made with the launch of inaugural 100 Best Albums list". Apple Newsroom. May 13, 2024. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ "Apple Music 100 Best Albums". Apple. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Powel, James. "Apple Music reveals more albums on its 100 Best Albums of all-time list: See numbers 80-71". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Vaziri, Aidin (May 23, 2024). "Apple Music's best albums list puts Lauryn Hill on top, sparking controversy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Cohen, Ben (May 24, 2024). "Apple Says These Are the 100 Best Albums. Even If You Think Different". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c Willman, Chris (May 23, 2024). "Yes, Apple's 100 Best Albums List Is Ridiculous and Exists Almost Expressly to Make You Mad". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Pahwa, Nitish (May 24, 2024). "How Apple Fell From the Tree". Slate. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c Mumford, Gwilym (May 24, 2024). "The Guide #140: Why it doesn't really matter if you disagree with Apple's top 100 album list". The Guardian. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Beckwith, Ryan Teague (May 22, 2024). "Opinion | Apple's 'Best Albums' list was supposed to be a love letter. Instead, it's a eulogy". MSNBC. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Frank, Jason P. (May 22, 2024). "Who's Responsible for Apple's Best-Albums List?". Vulture. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Brasil, Sydney (May 22, 2024). "People Have Feelings About Apple Music's 100 Best Albums List | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Butt, Maira (May 23, 2024). "Apple Music's top 100 albums of all time sparks fan debate as Michael Jackson misses out on top spot". The Independent. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Raihala, Ross (May 23, 2024). "Raihala: Let's talk about what's wrong with Apple Music's 100 Best Albums list". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
External links[edit]
- Apple Music 100 Best Albums by Apple Music